# The Inside Scoop - Dissection of a "Humidor"



## WaxingMoon (Aug 13, 2009)

I have an interested party that wanted me to do a "cut away" analysis of a typical humidor available on a popular e-commerce website.

The interested party purchased this humidor, Cuban Crafters Exotica Ebony/Cigar Humidor 125 count, handed it over to me and said, "Have at it"....

First thing I noticed was the sticker placed on the bottom of the "humidor"...










My first impression was.... "shiny" almost to a plastic effect.










The next thing to come to mind was.... Hmmmm, which one of my tools will get the job. I chose the bandsaw.










I was surprised at the ease that my saw went through this humidor. I have a harder time just resawing spanish cedar.










Ta-Da! The test subject is prepared.










I had suspected a spanish cedar veneer of about 1/32".... boy, was I surprised. It didn't even have that. I would compare what is being touted as spanish cedar to nothing more than a wall paper type material. So thin, that it didn't even register on my "Incra" measuring tool.



















None of the panels were sealed with anything such as silicone. The panels basically just sat in a groove.










Here's another picture of a cross sectioned piece.










Doesn't appear to have a lot of glue on the corner joint...










All in all, I guess you get what you pay for. I wouldn't expect this humidor to hold humidity as one would hope that it would. Spanish cedar is the nuts and bolts of a humidor. The seasoning process should take about a week in a properly lined humidor. However, one like this, I would say would be a waste of time to even attempt to season.

Oh, and take a look at the "plywood" bottom tray that came with it.... I will say that the tray sides and the small pieces to effect the "seal" were in fact 1/4" spanish cedar.










Thanks for looking....


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## Guest (Oct 6, 2012)

Geez, that's eye opening! You get what you pay for


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## Hall25 (Dec 16, 2010)

Great Write up Bro!!!


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## Fraze (Sep 19, 2012)

Great science project!


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## KSB (Aug 31, 2012)

Wow, great info. Thank you for posting it.


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## mrj205 (May 12, 2012)

That's why I buy from you, Ed!


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## StogieNinja (Jul 29, 2009)

Wow.


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## lebz (Mar 26, 2011)

Very eye opening. I have one from them and it has been honestly performing very well for me. This is a great post!


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## gasdocok (May 14, 2011)

I can't imagine spending that kind of money on a humi just to carve it up but I thank the BOTL who did because this was very interesting indeed.


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## beerindex (Sep 10, 2012)

I'm thinking it might be about time to toss my humidor and buy some larger tupperware.


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## jphank (Apr 29, 2012)

Awesome review. Thanks for hacking that up for us


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## Black Six (Sep 2, 2012)

when i first started reading this i was thinking "NOOOO! don't cut up that humi!!! wuch a waste!" 

but after seeing the pics of how it's constructed, (especially the spanish cedar wallpaper part) well... i think you should cut it again just to show it you mean business.


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## smokin3000gt (Apr 25, 2012)

Wow.. gotta give it to the Chinese. They sure can polish a turd into a gem!


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## smoking ash (Aug 22, 2010)

Yep that's a eye opening experiment! Thank You and the BOTL who provided it. Man WOW it looked so pretty just before it got the blade! Then the the true core was exposed! Guess the old saying never judge by the cover definitely fits here! Thanks again man for posting!


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## SilverStreak (May 7, 2012)

Thanks for tearing one of those open. More motivation for me to get my sticks in to a wineador and out of that thompson I have.


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## zeavran1 (Aug 18, 2009)

dam. bad place to store cigars. I don't have one of those but I think I'll add cedar to mine just in case for now.


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## Breezy818 (Oct 1, 2012)

Nice experiment Ed! That's why I have one of your works of art!

-Dan


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## GoJohnnyGo (Nov 19, 2011)

Nice write up. This really reinforces my decision to stick with coolers and pelican cases until I'm ready to get a real humidor. Thanks to the botl that funded this experiment.


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## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

If I had a nickle for every time I've said these things are junk and why, I'd own an island. If I had a Franklin for every time these words have been heeded and people stopped buying said junk, I'd still be in the Po house.

Maybe pics will help.

It should also be pointed out that this is not exclusive to this particular brand, or model. This is literally ALL such humidors. China does actually produce a very small number of quality humidors, but these are extremely rare and most go to manufacturers as promotional items. Virtually none are sold to consumers.

Thanks, Ed!


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## Bondo 440 (Jul 24, 2012)

Craftsman tools come from China as well as the Ford lower control arms I got from NAPA. The CHINA sticker alone don;t mean anything. 

But that is a pretty damming illustration, and a nice diagnosis. It's just a cheap humidor for a cheap market.
" Cedar Lined " uh .. yea. Didn't realize you could actualluy read through the cedar sheet.

But a lot of us started this way. I love my twin 100's. As long as the distributors aren't mirepresenting them. ..


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## smokin surfer (Jul 21, 2012)

I'm surprised that it was _that_ cheaply made. But not very. My first humi was a glasstop that came with 20 cigars for $99 haha.. now I use it for dryboxing since my house is kept at 50% rh. You make humis? I need to check it out.


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## aroma (Apr 12, 2010)

I don't have a problem with veneer over dimensionally-stable material. Some high-end humidors with very good reputations are made that way. Solid hardwood, while beautiful, carries much more risk of movement and warping over time.

The Achilles' heel of the cheap humidor is the super-thin, loosely-fitting, floating bottom.

Not all inexpensive humidors are made this badly. For example, here's one with a thicker bottom, which a few puffers have found to perform well.


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## GrEg NiCe (Sep 25, 2009)

Wow. You really get what you for.


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## skfr518 (Jul 4, 2011)

Incredible write up and photos! Thank you for doing that, however I am not too surprised. Like the others have said you get what you pay for.


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## WyldKnyght (Apr 1, 2011)

WTG Ed, 

thanks to the Unknown BOTL...

New meaning of lipstick on a pig...


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## Collinsworth (Oct 8, 2012)

Great write up, as i am a newbie, I have actually been looking at buying one of these Chinese made jobs, but after seeing your post I'm going to reconsider. Thanks for saving me!


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## Pantomimehorse (Jan 9, 2010)

wow thats a real eyeopener thanks for the post and effort


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## Gdaddy (Sep 20, 2012)

_"There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price alone are that person's lawful prey."_


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## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

:bump2:

CUz this needs to be known!


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## Paulharmo (Jan 2, 2012)

This is fantastically eye-opening. Makes me wonder what my ~$75 humidor would look like cut apart. And it makes me lust for a Waxing Moon one to replace it!


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## aroma (Apr 12, 2010)

Paulharmo said:


> ... Makes me wonder what my ~$75 humidor would look like cut apart. ...


This exercise might give some insight into it


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## bazookajoe (Nov 2, 2006)

Herf N Turf said:


> ... China does actually produce a very small number of quality humidors, but these are extremely rare and most go to manufacturers as promotional items. Virtually none are sold to consumers...


Yup. China doesn't make cheap inferior products for the fun of it--they make what companies pay them to make and are fully capable of making quality products (i.e. Apple products etc...). These humidors exist because people like the price point and companies are willing to sell them...


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## copper0426 (Aug 15, 2012)

That...was...awesome!!!! NO WONDER mine won't stabilize. I thought I was stupid. LMFAO


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## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

bazookajoe said:


> Yup. China doesn't make cheap inferior products for the fun of it--they make what companies pay them to make and are fully capable of making quality products (i.e. Apple products etc...). These humidors exist because people like the price point and companies are willing to sell them...


Spot-on, David. It's all about two things: Price point and mark up. I seriously doubt if Quality Importers wholesale any humidor for over $25, which means it likely costs less than five bucks to produce. Which is EXACTLY what they're worth.


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## aroma (Apr 12, 2010)

bazookajoe said:


> Yup. China doesn't make cheap inferior products for the fun of it--they make what companies pay them to make and are fully capable of making quality products (i.e. Apple products etc...). These humidors exist because people like the price point and companies are willing to sell them...





Herf N Turf said:


> Spot-on, David. It's all about two things: Price point and mark up. I seriously doubt if Quality Importers wholesale any humidor for over $25, which means it likely costs less than five bucks to produce. Which is EXACTLY what they're worth.


This is an interesting line of reasoning. If you extrapolate it, it seems that those high-volume factories should be able to produce humidors in an intermediate price range, which are made well enough to perform reasonably, but stay well under the price points of higher-end and custom units. I think The Salvador, which I linked in an earlier post in this thread, is an example of such a humidor. Do any of you know of other units with comparable price/performance?


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## BoogerB (Jul 17, 2012)

Thanks for the post and dissection!


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## Danny (Feb 2, 2013)

Supply and Demand =$$$$$$$ Big companies know this they research this.crap is crap,Quality cost $$ you win you lose.:juggle:


aroma said:


> This is an interesting line of reasoning. If you extrapolate it, it seems that those high-volume factories should be able to produce humidors in an intermediate price range, which are made well enough to perform reasonably, but stay well under the price points of higher-end and custom units. I think The Salvador, which I linked in an earlier post in this thread, is an example of such a humidor. Do any of you know of other units with comparable price/performance?


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## Danny (Feb 2, 2013)

Great work sir.ya gotta be cruel to be kind.:thumb:


Herf N Turf said:


> Spot-on, David. It's all about two things: Price point and mark up. I seriously doubt if Quality Importers wholesale any humidor for over $25, which means it likely costs less than five bucks to produce. Which is EXACTLY what they're worth.


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## Isaac (Jan 3, 2013)

Good call on bumping this thread@Danny


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## Danny (Feb 2, 2013)

Nice work.It's a sin i actually purchased a cuban crafters humidor not this partcular model,just got back into cigars awhile ago needed something quick.I actually was aware of the quality of these MIC humi's.soon ,hopefully i will purchase a quality peice of work.don't want to deal with tupperdors,although coolidors got my eye but not Wifey's,oh well,Nice work thank you.


WaxingMoon said:


> I have an interested party that wanted me to do a "cut away" analysis of a typical humidor available on a popular e-commerce website.
> 
> The interested party purchased this humidor, Cuban Crafters Exotica Ebony/Cigar Humidor 125 count, handed it over to me and said, "Have at it"....
> 
> ...


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## Danny (Feb 2, 2013)

Thank you


Isaac said:


> Good call on bumping this thread@Danny


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## Danny (Feb 2, 2013)

Much More than willing WANT $$$ more like it.


bazookajoe said:


> Yup. China doesn't make cheap inferior products for the fun of it--they make what companies pay them to make and are fully capable of making quality products (i.e. Apple products etc...). These humidors exist because people like the price point and companies are willing to sell them...


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## Danny (Feb 2, 2013)

Not stupid just misinformed,for the almighty lol


copper0426 said:


> That...was...awesome!!!! NO WONDER mine won't stabilize. I thought I was stupid. LMFAO


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## KaChong (Jan 1, 2012)

I might as well throw my 2c into this necropost. 

That core material looks like fiberboard (MDF). While it's dimensionally stable (won't warp much with time) it contains quite a lot of glue to hold it together and will permeate that gluey goodness into your humidor over time.


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## Eddien8620 (Oct 27, 2010)

WOW! Nice Post!!!! Thanks to the donor of this experiment and the scientist behind it! LOL


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## sjcruiser36 (Dec 20, 2012)

Great post and photos. Thanks for sharing!!


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## ras_oscar (Aug 30, 2015)

The photos are missing. I'd like top see them. Any chance of getting them back?


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